The fall in earnings was largely down to write-offs at Boeing, EADS and BAE Systems. EADS was hit by the strength of the euro against the dollar, and by losses on the A400M military transport aircraft and the A380 super jumbo. Boeing also had higher development costs as it struggled to get its new 787 off the ground. BAE’s results were hit by penalties to settle fraud charges with the UK and US authorities.

Deloitte’s study looked at the financial performance of the 91 global aerospace and defence companies with revenues exceeding $500m.